an underdog runner-up is Gwangi, in “the valley of Gwangi.” amazing harryhausen special effects, and one very kick-ass magenta allosaur.

As for giant monster movies I do like, I’ll go with some big bug action with Them! and Starship Troopers. Them! never failed to freak me out as a kid whenever it aired on the 4 O’Clock Movie - just that chirping sound the ants made would send me scurrying out of the room. And Starship Troopers is just flat-out amazing. Hordes of alien insects never looked so good. And that big brain sucker at the end was repulsive enough to give me nightmares.

But, Attack of the Crab Monsters is my personal favorite giant monster flick–some can’t get past the bad acting and awful effects, but I have been incredibly willing to suspend my disbelief for this movie ever since I was a kid, and it was on heavy rotation on NYC’s old Metromedia Channel 5.
With Corman’s nonstop atmosphere of dread, and the movie’s lightning pacing, those talking crabs *freaked* me out. I just couldn’t let go of the thought that if the atomic crabs ate your brain (ewww!), then they’d absorb your memories and personality. And when I was a kid, I thought that it meant that the crabs would steal your soul, too.

And this movie is fast! Only about 65 minutes long! I have a copy of Charles Griffith’s original script; Corman cut out about 20 pages; not that I blame him, it was mushy romance crud, and had it been left in, I don’t think the movie would still have its fans.

Jeff, if I may cross-talk, I think why Them! (which is another fave) completely holds up after all these years is because it’s primarily a good, well-acted police procedural. We’ve got decent, hard-working lawmen and forensics experts trying to stop an evil criminal enterprise. It just *happens* to be giant radioactive ants, that’s all…

(BTW, My stepdad and I used to watch Them! whenever it was on TV, and for the next week after, he’d randomly shout “Make me a sergeant, charge the booze!” like the geezer in the nuthouse. )

One monster movie that tends to get overlooked, I feel, is Rodan. I really want to see a deluxe DVD of this movie. Others (whom I can’t remember now…sorry…) have noted that Rodan starts as a mystery, becomes a horror movie, and so on, bouncing between genres (romance, war movie, kaiju, tragedy, etc.), and that it’s this switching gears that keeps Rodan fresh.

Finally, Godzilla: Final Wars is highly recommended–yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s a remake of Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero, but gee-whiz: it’s got *every* Toho monster in it, and it even manages to be post-modern, commenting on Gamera and the rotten American Godzilla movie.
And I won’t start on the high quality of the most recent batch of Gamera films–which, if you look closely at the effects, somewhat predate Cloverfield: Gamera’s effects are usually shot from “street” level creating a more “realistic” camera angle–as opposed to Eiji Tsuburaya/Toho, who around the 1960s starting shooting everything at “chest” level. I liked Cloverfield, and I may even go see it again in a theater. I hope the Cloverfield DVD has a gorier version, though.

Thanks for letting blab! This is a great site, and I’ve always enjoyed visiting it,
–Ivan

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to wade through every Godzilla feature (and most of the tangential films of the Godzilla mythos, like Mothra and Rodan), but a project I’m working on with Roundtable member Doug Nagy is taking up most of my viewing time. So instead I’ve mostly been bouncing around the different films based on my mood.

I started watching Godzilla: Final Wars with a group of friends and we loved it, but we had to cut the screening short. Unfortunately, I promised that we would pick it up again at a later date, but I couldn’t resist and I peeked at a few scenes. Then I felt guilty and turned it off. I’ve really got to get them all back over here.

I’ve heard great things about the Gamera series, and I really enjoyed GMK so I imagine it would be up my alley. I should really get on that.

*= after checking Barry’s Temple of Godzilla (godzillatemple-dot-com), I see there’s been several reimaginings of Godzilla–and a batch of “new” Godzilla flicks I haven’t seen…I hate to say it, but I think I’d rather watch Godzilla: Final Wars again, fast-forwarding through the stuff I don’t like.

Keep up the good work!
–Ivan

Plus King Kong Lives in the 80’s where the Kongs are in love!